Reputation is Nothing
by Nightcrawlerlover
Summary: AU. Abigail Watson suggests an adventure, and the boys are up for it. But little does Abigail know that Ace Merrill has a plan.
1. Being Spied On

**Hey, there. Here's a new Stand By Me story I cooked up one day while reading some good SBM fanfics. It's an Alternate Universe story, and it takes place a few days after Ray Brower's body is found. Hope you like it! **

**(By the way, I'm still trying to get ideas for "The Rapist of Castle Rock", and **standbyme406** (aka Bridget)'s idea is a great one! Thanks, my friend. That means a lot to me.)**

**Disclaimer: The geniuses at Paramount Pictures own Stand By Me. I own the fanfics I cook up from time to time.**

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_His eyes upon your face  
His hand upon your hand  
His lips caress your skin  
It's more than I can stand_

_Roxanne  
Why does my heart cry?  
Roxanne  
Feelings I can't fight  
You're free to leave me  
But just don't deceive me  
And please believe me  
When I say, I love you_  
-Ewan McGregor, **El Tango de Roxanne**

It was a new day in Castle Rock, Oregon. It was June. But it was also pretty hot – about 70 degrees, of course. Castle Rock was a small town. Its population was only 1200 people, but to 12-year-old Abigail Watson, it was the whole world.

_Well, I was born in a small town  
And I live in a small town  
Probably die in a small town  
Oh, those small communities_

_All my friends are so small town  
My parents live in the same small town  
My job is so small town  
Provides little opportunity_

_Educated in a small town  
Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town  
Used to daydream in that small town  
Another born romantic, that's me_  
-John Mellencamp, **Small Town**

Abigail was a lovely girl with hair the color of chocolate and cobalt eyes. She was often sarcastic, but only when she wanted to be. But often she was actually quite nice. She wanted to be a famous writer when she grew up. And she was very smart for her age, having been precocious when she was little.

She was wearing a green T-shirt covered by a royal blue coat with blue snaps and gray pockets, blue jeans and white socks.

She sat on her bed, listening to her parents discuss their problems with each other. But sometimes those discussions involved her.

"_A writer? Huh, I don't think so."_

"_Abigail's not going to survive on peanuts as a writer."_

"_She should give up being a writer. It's a waste of time anyway."_

"_She's a girl, and girls shouldn't be writers. Stuff like writing should be left up to men only." _

Abigail shook her head and smiled to herself. She knew they were wrong. She believed that she would become a great writer, just like her friend Gordie Lachance.

It was then that Abigail had an idea. She slipped off her bed, put on her black Velcro sneakers, snuck over to the door, then put her ear to it. At first she didn't hear anything.

_Perfect,_ she thought. So she quietly opened her bedroom door, then walked on tiptoe to the front door. She listened just in case her parents heard her. Luck was on her side, as they hadn't heard anything.

So she opened the door, slipped out and closed it quietly behind her.

"_Time to begin my adventure,_" she whispered to herself.

With that, she headed off. Her idea was that she and her friends – Gordie, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio – would go on an adventure.

Chris Chambers was the leader of the gang. The Chambers family was seen by everyone in Castle Rock as a bad family. The dad was an alcoholic. The mom was a streetwalker. The older brother was a rapist. Richie, who preferred to be called Eyeball and hung out with the Cobras, was a juvenile delinquent.

Chris was seen as a thief ever since the milk money incident at school. Everyone would hide their purses and their wallets as though they thought he would steal them. All those people knew was his last name. They judged him because they didn't know.

But to Abigail, Gordie, Teddy and Vern, Chris was seen as a good kid.

Vern Tessio was an overweight kid who was often the subject of the gang's jokes. At the beginning of the school year he had buried a jar of pennies underneath his house. He drew a treasure map so he could find them again. A week later his mom cleaned out his room and threw away the map. Vern had been looking for those pennies for nine months. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Teddy Duchamp was the craziest guy the gang all hung around with. He didn't have much of a chance in life. His dad was given to fits of rage. One time he held Teddy's ear to a stove and almost burnt it off.

Gordie was a quiet, bookish boy with a penchant for telling stories that he could make up off the top of his head. The only person who supported his dream of being a writer was his brother Denny. Denny loved Gordie's stories, and thought they were very good, as well as thought-up and creative.

But sadly Denny died in a Jeep accident a few months ago. Gordie's parents never got over the tragedy of losing their favorite son.

Now they would ignore Gordie and pretend he was the invisible boy. Sometimes Gordie's father would compare Gordie to Denny, which Gordie had recently taken a disliking to.

Once he asked,

"Why can't you have friends like Denny's?"

"Dad, they're OK," Gordie replied.

"Sure they are. A thief and two feebs?" Mr. LaChance asked.

"Chris isn't a thief," said Gordie.

"He stole the milk money at school. He's a thief in my book."

But little did she know that the "bad boy" of Castle Rock himself, Ace Merrill, was watching from his car.

He had short blond hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face. He was given the nickname of "bad boy" of Castle Rock because he was always popular with the girls, and their parents never liked him much. And he was the leader of a gang called the Cobras. They consisted of Vern's big bro Billy, Eyeball, Charlie Hogan, Jackie Mudgett and Vince Desjardins.

Ace was wearing a black shirt, a pair of black Levis, and black shoes. He looked pretty cool.

He had noticed Abigail a few days earlier, when it had been the last day of school…

"_Abigail! Hey, Abigail!" a voice yelled._

_Abigail looked up at the speaker who had called her name and smiled. It was Mr. Smith, her writing teacher._

"_Yeah?" she asked._

"_I just want to say, thanks for all your hard work. I'll treasure your writing forever."_

"_You're welcome," Abigail replied._

Ace could not believe what he was hearing. He was also quite impressed at Abigail's politeness.

Then he remembered Abigail saying, "I'm a brain. Therefore, I don't get a boyfriend" whenever some guy would work up the courage to ask her out on a date.

Ace shook his head. _A brain, huh?_ And she never dated.

Once, when some guy tried to give her a kiss, she backed away and then took off like a startled deer or a fawn. Eyeball, having seen the whole thing, told him what had happened…

"_Hey! Abigail!"_

_Abigail looked up. A guy with dark brown eyes and black hair had ran up to her._

"_You look…great,_"_ he said, smirking._

_Abigail felt a little uncomfortable. _"_Uh, thanks," she said._

"_May I…"_

_He seemed to be having trouble with his next words. Abigail waited._

"_May I…kiss you?" he asked._

"_No. Now get away from me!_"_ Abigail said, and then turned and ran, her sneakers pounding the pavement._

_Eyeball was surprised as he watched the whole scene unfold in front of him. That guy had nerve; he knew that. _

Ace then smirked as he cooked up a plan…

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**Well, hope you like it so far. :) Nice feedback is appreciated, of course. **


	2. The Next Day

**Well, here's the next chapter! I send my thanks to the reviewer of the last chapter - HermioneandMarcus.**

**This chapter is in my point of view. Then it will switch the points of view between characters (hope you don't mind). **

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All that walking was great exercise…at first. Soon I got to the tree house.

I climbed up, one step at a time, then reached up and knocked on the trap door underneath me.

There was a scraping noise. Then the door opened and a boy's face appeared. It was Teddy. He smiled.

"Abigail, what's up?" he asked.

"The usual," I replied as I pulled myself up into the tree house and sat down.

"Hey, Chris," I said, turning to Chris and smiling.

"Hey, Abigail," said Chris.

Later, after Gordie and Vern arrived, I spoke up.

"Hey, guys," I said. "Listen to this…"

"It was the time where secret agents were abound on the earth, stopping crime. Some agents stopped a crisis that threatened the world. Most would foil the plans of the bad guys that normally involved taking over the world.

There was one agent who always got the job done. His agent name was 008, but to everyone else, he was known by another name…Teddy Duchamp."

"Oh, wow! That is so boss - I'm a secret agent," said Teddy. I smiled, and then went on with my story…

"Of course, Teddy wasn't interested in winning against the bad guys. What he wanted was revenge.

"For you see, some punk had murdered his parents in front of him one night. And ever since, he was consumed by a need to avenge their deaths. He felt they did not deserve to be killed in an alley and sent to a bloody grave as though their lives were meaningless…because they weren't.

"Finally, he cornered his parents' murderer, whose name was Dennis, in an alley that was close to the one his mom and dad had met their fate.

" 'You killed my parents,' he said. His voice was full of passion, rage and anger.

The guy tried to bribe him with gifts, saying it was an accident.

"But Teddy Duchamp would have none of it. He grabbed the killer by the throat, lifted him up and then turned to the top of the building.

" 'Teddy, please, put me down,' " said the guy, scared.

" 'I don't think so,'" said Teddy.

"Then with that, he walked over to the side of the building and then looked at the guy, who was, of course, looking down at the sidewalk below.

" 'You know, Dennis, you committed a treacherous, unforgivable act, and now you gotta pay.'"

"Dennis couldn't think of a good reply. He knew he had lost.

" 'Sweet dreams,'" said Teddy.

"Then, he opened his hand. And Dennis was falling to his impending death. His screams rang out in the night air.

"Teddy couldn't help but grin to himself as he stepped away from the edge and onto the building itself. Then he headed off to a new life in…the Wild West…"

"The end," I finished dramatically.

Vern, Chris, Gordie and Teddy applauded and cheered.

"Great story, Abigail! You should write it down, make a copy of it, and give it to each of us!" suggested Teddy.

"Yeah, that does sound good," I replied, smiling.

I thought for a moment, and then said,

"What do you say we go on an adventure?"

"Abigail, that idea is a good one," said Teddy. He ruffled my hair, then got me in a headlock and gave me a noogie.

Then, when he let me go, I said,

"Thanks, Teddy."

The next morning, I was sound asleep. The story I had told the previous day had given me so many ideas that I just couldn't figure which idea to pick first. Oh well, maybe I'll get some while we're on our adventure…

Meanwhile…

"OK, so we've got Teddy, Chris Gordie and Vern," said Teddy. "Wait a minute. Someone's missing."

"Abigail," they all said simtaneously.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" said Chris, smiling.

"Oh yeah."

With that, they headed over to where the window to Abigail's room was…

"Abigail, wake up!"

It was Teddy. I woke up instantly. Luckily I was wearing blue jeans, my favorite orange and black sweatshirt over a blue turtleneck, and black shoes with Velcro.

I slipped over to the window and opened it. There Teddy stood, with Chris, Gordie and Vern. They were all smiling at me.

"Hey guys," I said, slipping down the drainpipe next to the window.

"Hey, Abigail, that slide down the drainpipe was brilliant!" said Teddy.

I knew that Teddy would've loved to do something like that. He was the type of guy that loved to do crazy things.

"Well, guys, let's go!" I said.

With that, we were on our way!

But then, two hours later, we ran into…Ace Merrill and his gang of Cobras.

"What the…Abigail?" said Eyeball.

I gave him a smirk that Ace himself would be proud of.

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**Ooh, what's going to happen now...**

**Just wait and find out!**


	3. Abigail vs the Cobras

**Well, here's a new chapter in my Stand By Me saga (which means epic tale, of course). My thanks go to** JJAH, iSiRiUsLyLoVeSiRiUs **and** standbyme406** for the nice reviews on the last chapter of my story.** **You guys are the best friends a writer like myself could ever have. (hands out cookies)**

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_The dream lay broken_  
_Seemed like all was lost_  
_What would be the future_  
_Could you pay the cost_  
_You wonder,_  
_Will there ever be_  
_a second time around?_

_Woah-a, woah-a_  
_When the tears are over_  
_And the moment has come_  
_Say "My lord,_  
_I think I found someone"_  
_And no one would be better_  
_To be putting it together_  
_For the second time around_

_We got the woman and man_  
_We got the kids in a clan_  
_Only time will tell_  
_If all these dreams fit under one umbrella_

_Step by step_  
_Day by day_  
_A fresh start over_  
_A different hand to play_  
_The deeper we fall_  
_The stronger we stay_  
_And we'll be better_  
_The second time around_

_Step by step_  
_Day by day_  
_Day by day_  
_A fresh start over_  
_A different hand to play_  
_Only time will tell_  
_But you know what they say_  
_We'll make it better_  
_The second time around_

-Jesse Frederick and Theresa James, **Second Time Around (Step By Step)**

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**Previously…**

"_Well, guys, let's go!" I said._

_With that, we were on our way!_

_But then, two hours later, we ran into…Ace Merrill and his gang of Cobras._

"_What the…Abigail?" said Eyeball._

_I gave him a smirk that Ace himself would be proud of._

* * *

Eyeball was in shock. Then he turned to Ace.

"Hey, Ace, her smirk reminds me of _you_!" he said.

"Oh really?" said Ace. Eyeball nodded.

_Oooh, suspense. I love it!_ I thought.

**(Ace's POV)**

I watched Abigail as she stood there. _Wow,_ I thought. _She's beautiful!_

"Ace, you really should learn to be a gentleman, if you know what I mean," she said.

* * *

Then Ace rushed at Abigail, but she did a whirligig and kicked him backwards. He was knocked to the ground.

She then took on Eyeball and lifted him up. He was in shock.

"Abby, have you been-?" he managed to ask.

"Something like that," Abigail replied before Eyeball could finish. Then she dropped him; his landing was a little less painful than Ace's had been. Next were Jackie, Vince, Billy, Charlie and Fuzzy. They too were lifted up in the air (one at a time) and made to land painfully on the sidewalk as well.

"Serves, you right, _Richie_," she said to Eyeball.

Normally Eyeball would, in his words, "kill anybody who calls me by my real name".

But this time, he just looked up at Abigail from where he lay. He didn't have much energy to get up and fight back against Abigail.

"Well, that's that," she said.

Chris, Teddy, Gordie and Vern looked at her in shock. Then Teddy said,  
"Abby, that was…"

"Unbelievable," Chris finished.

Abigail replied,  
"I know. Let's keep moving."

With that they began walking again. They were no less than five feet away when Ace slowly got up. So did the other Cobras. They were bruised and beaten up.

Eyeball had a black eye from where Abigail had punched him before lifting him up. He had been startled at her strength. He silently vowed he would do his best to treat Abigail like the lady he privately knew she was.

_I have to be more gentleman-like,_ he thought.

Vince winced as pain shot through him. Like Ace, he could take a beating. But this was no beating. This was different. Being thrown on the sidewalk by a kid who was stronger than she looked was something to remember. He knew that for sure.

Charlie was a little worse for the wear. His white shirt had a few stains, but nothing a good washing couldn't handle. He also couldn't get the memory of the smirk on Abigail's face as she held him high above her.

Billy had been known to take his anger out on Vern. But this… well, this was not the same thing. When he felt himself being hoisted up in the air by her… and saw the frown on her face, he knew he had better tone down on the anger.

Jackie Mudgett was also very surprised when he found out Abigail was stronger than she looked the hard way. He secretly hoped that he would never pick on her again…although, that to him was easier said than done.

Fuzzy, whose real name was forgotten to him, could hardly believe what had happened. One moment, he was standing on the sidewalk, with not a care in the world. The next he was lying on the ground, his whole self aching especially in places he didn't know he had. That was saying something, since, as Ace had put it one time, "there's one reason he's called Fuzzy, and it's not because of his hair."

Of course, he had to agree with Ace about that this time around.

Finally, there was Ace.

_Ungrateful little brat!_ he growled to himself. He couldn't believe it. He had gotten into lots of fights with the Cobras cheering him on, and he almost never lost.

Besides being a bully and bossing all the kids who were littler than him (except the girls, as he didn't want to order them around too much), he was also a fighter. And he was very strong-willed as well.

He also used his switchblade to help him win sometimes. It had a jet black handle, and the blade was six inches long.

But this? This was not good. He had gotten beaten, for the first time in his life…

And by a twelve-year-old girl, no less.

As he remembered Abigail dodging his every attack, and with precision like a wolf too, he couldn't help but wonder...

Where did she get all those amazing moves?

The whirligig…the scissor kick…the jump kick…

He couldn't believe it…

He, Ace Merrill, was in shock for quite possibly the first time in his life.

Why hadn't he seen it previously?

The brown hair as she spun around on one foot, the other knocking him to the ground. Her strength as she picked up Eyeball, held him above her head and threw him down. And finally, there was that fiery spirit Eyeball had insisted was not something to mess with.

As he looked over to where Abigail was walking with her friends, he said to himself,  
"One day I'll have you, Abigail…I swear."

With that, Ace Merrill made a promise.

_Nobody beats me in a fight and gets away with it. No one._

_Especially not a twelve-year-old kid with chocolate hair and cobalt eyes who thinks she's tough._

_Abigail, this is big time, baby._

Then he imagined Abigail's voice, saying in a teasing tone,

"Maybe you will hunt me down, and maybe you won't."

That, however, only made the fires of his anger grow all the more. They raged as his wrath continued to increase until it was a roaring flame, full of rage and passion…

"Oh, I will…"

**Meanwhile…**

"Well done, you!" said Teddy, clapping me on the back. I smiled.

"You sure showed them, Abigail!" said Vern.

"Thanks, guys," I replied.

"You're pretty tough, Abigail. If your writing career doesn't work out, you could join the Army," Teddy suggested.

"I don't know, Teddy. I think that's more your thing," I replied.

"Abigail, if they won't let you in, I'll just force them," said Teddy, smirking now.

"Then again," I replied, "it wouldn't be too bad for me to fight by your side."

Teddy nodded. He knew exactly what I was saying. It wouldn't be too bad for the both of us to fight together against the enemy.

**Oooh, what do you think Ace's plan could be? Just give me some ideas in your reviews, please!**


	4. The Junkyard

**Hey, here's a new chapter! I can't believe I got 5 reviews on this story. I send my thanks to them: aandm18, JJAH****, and Sam (aka XxxxxMrsCoreyFeldmanxxxxX - she loves Teddy as much as I do)****,** **as well as standbyme406 and HermioneandMarcus****. You guys mean a lot to me!**

**Also, I dedicate this chapter to ****Pulchritude, who loves Ace as well. Ace's persona is fun to play with - whether it's a psychopath or what is hiding under the bully.  
**

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Previously…

_Then Ace rushed at Abigail, but she did a whirligig and kicked him backwards. He was knocked to the ground._

_Then she took on Eyeball and lifted him up. He was in shock._

"_Abby, have you been-?"_

"_Something like that," Abigail replied. _

_Then she dropped him. His landing was a little less painful than Ace's had been. Next were Jackie, Vince, Billy, Charlie and Fuzzy. They too were lifted up in the air (one at a time). Then, they also landed painfully on the sidewalk._

"_Serves you right, Richie," she said to Eyeball._

_Normally Eyeball would, according to him, "kill anybody who calls me by my real name."_

_But this time, he stared up at Abigail from where he lay. He didn't have much energy to get up and fight back against Abigail._

"_Well, that's that," she said._

_Chris, Teddy, Gordie and Vern looked at her in shock._

_  
Then Teddy said,  
"Abby, that was…"_

"_Unbelievable," Chris finished._

_Abigail replied,_

_  
"I know. Let's keep moving."_

_With that they began walking again…_

"_Well done you!" said Teddy, clapping me on the back. I smiled._

"_You sure showed them, Abigail!" said Vern._

"_Thanks, guys," I replied._

"_You're pretty tough, Abigail. If your writing career doesn't work out, you should join the Army," Teddy suggested._

"_I don't know, Teddy. I think that's more your thing."_

"_Abigail, if they won't let you in, I'll just force them," said Teddy, smirking now._

"_Then again," I replied, "it wouldn't be too bad for me to fight by your side."_

_Teddy nodded. He knew exactly what I was saying. It wouldn't be too bad for the both of us to fight together against the enemy._

_You keep saying you've got something for me.  
something you call love, but confess.  
You've been messin' where you shouldn't have been a messin'  
and now someone else is gettin' all your best._

_These boots are made for walking, _

_and that's just what they'll do  
one of these days these boots _

_are gonna walk all over you_

_--_Nancy Sinatra, _These Boots are Made for Walkin'_

As we walked along the road, Teddy spoke up.

"Hey, Abigail, where do you think this adventure is gonna take us?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Teddy. Maybe the Wild West or something. After all, adventure is written in the heart of a man, and there _is_ something fierce in the heart of a man, too."

"Wow, Abigail," said Chris. "That's deep."

"Very deep," Vern agreed.

_Cool! _I thought.

Then we stopped. "Did anybody bring food?" asked Gordie. We sat down on the tracks. The boys pulled out what money they had, and Vern, of course, had only seven cents.

"I haven't found my pennies yet," he said.

"I remembered to bring some money too," I replied. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my black purse (which I had put into my backpack the night before), then opened it. I then opened a zippered compartment and pulled out three wads of dollar bills. The boys' eyes widened.

"Abigail, that's a lot of money. You must be rich or something," said Teddy.

"No, actually, I earned it from helping out the neighbors. They were rich, so they gave me just enough money," I explained. "There's exactly 25 dollars and 32 cents. I'm saving it, just in case, for something special."

"Cool," said Teddy.

I gathered up all my money, put back in my purse and got to my feet, as did the others. "Let's go," I said. We then began walking again.

Soon we came to the Castle Rock junkyard. Then, at precisely 3 o'clock. . . it happened.

Gordie leaped right over the fence. Then Milo Pressman ran up.

He hissed at Teddy,

"Sonny, I'm gonna beat you for teasing my dog like that."

"Oh yeah?" I replied. _"I'd_ love to see you try to come over this fence and get _me_, you crouching tiger-slash-hidden dragon."

Silence suddenly fell on the junkyard. Milo turned and looked at me, an expression of shock on his face. He had obviously never been called _that_ before.

"Don't you call me that, you little tin weasel peckerwood looney's daughter!" he replied.

Then Teddy looked at me. I had been grinning until then. But now I had narrowed my eyes. He put a hand on my shoulder. Chris put his hand on my other shoulder.

"What did you call me?" I asked. I had this really weird smirk on my face.

"I know who you are," said Milo, grinning. "You're Abigail Watson. Your dad's a looney – a looney up in the nut house in Togus. He took your ear and he put it to a stove and he burnt it off."

Here Teddy checked to see if that was true. He blinked. My ears looked healthy – not a burn anywhere. He smiled to himself. Apparently Milo didn't know what he was talking about.

"My father is a famous actor," I said in a voice the others had never seen me use before – especially Teddy.

"He's crazier than a nut house rat. No wonder you are the way you are, with a looney for a father," replied Milo.

"You call my father a crouching tiger, hidden dragon again, and you are legally and rightfully a dead man," I growled.

"What?" asked Milo.

"Come on, guys," I said, turning and heading down the road. "Let's go."

Ignoring Milo's rants, we headed down the road. Then Teddy spoke up.

"I can't believe it, Abigail. He taunted your dad the same way he did mine. Only you stood up to him much better than I did. You believed me about my dad, so I believe you about yours."

I smiled. "Thanks, Teddy. That means a lot to me."

Of course, Teddy meant what he said about his and my fathers.

I loved that about him – always believing me when I told the truth about something that wasn't my fault.

"You were brilliant, Abby," he said, grinning at me like a Cheshire cat.

I smiled in reply and expostulated,

"Thanks. I have to admit, I'm touched. That's really nice of you, Teddy."

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**Well, I hope you liked this chapter. And the term "expostulated" means "reasoned with someone earnestly". It's a good word in my vocabulary. **


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